Brighter
by kanya12
Summary: AU. Katniss Everdeen was a girl who lost everything after her father's death. She thought she could put her own happiness in a corner to secure a brighter future for her sister. Effie Trinket was a woman who had everything, and nevertheless she didn't feel whole. They both wanted to burn a little brighter.
1. Chapter 1

" _ **An intense love, a veritable tornado sweeping across the plains—flattening everything in its path, tossing things up in the air, ripping them to shreds, crushing them to bits. The tornado's intensity doesn't abate for a second as it blasts across the ocean, laying waste to Angkor Wat, incinerating an Indian jungle, tigers and everything, transforming itself into a Persian desert sandstorm, burying an exotic fortress city under a sea of sand.**_ _ **In short, a love of truly monumental proportions"**_

 _ **-Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart**_

Katniss sighed heavily as she watched the dense rain pouring down the sky. Nothing new, of course: in District 12 it was raining the eighty per cent of the year, and when it wasn't rain, it was snow. When she was younger, her father was used to tell her and Prim that the raindrops were nothing but tears of the angels. Katniss remembered that at the time she had thought that God had to be very cruel to make his angels cry all the time, but she never expressed this thought out loud, even with her sister, because her father always said that God was good, that he gave them a roof on their head and he gave him beautiful daughters. So she tried to think of God as a really severe entity. Severe but, at the end, good in his own way. Then, five years before, an earthquake made the mine where her father worked collapse, and Katniss stopped believing that God was good. Actually, she stopped believing in God at all.

After her father's death, her mother fell into a deep, deep form of depression, at the point she didn't eat and she didn't cook anything anymore, and she just stopped going to work, forgetful that she had two girls to feed. Both Katniss and Prim were underage at the time, Katniss was 15 and Prim was 11. Despite the help coming from Katniss' best friend Gale, whose father also died because of the mine accident, who found job at the butcher shop and sent them some meat every time he could, Prim was getting smaller and smaller, paler and paler, until she got sick. Terrified that her sister could die for starvation, when Katniss turned 16 she made the decision to quit school and find some little job as baby sitter, dog sitter and waitress. Then, as she turned 18, she found a full time job at the laundry at the corner. She hated that job, it was exhausting and her ten hours shift seemed to go by every day more slowly. But she never complained, working no-stop hour after hour. The salary was poor but she managed to pay the bills adding a second job during the evenings, when she served as a waitress in a bar, from 9 pm to 2 am. There were nights where Katniss got so frustrated that she climbed onto the roof and looked down to the streets lit only by the lights of the cars that passed by unawares of her miserable life, and thought several times about jumping in the void under her. She never did, though. She couldn't leave Prim. She was smart and dreamed of becoming a doctor, and all Katniss wanted was at least for her sister to be happy. And she was more than ready to sacrifice her life to that purpose.

A voice behind her interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Everdeen!" Greasy Sae's voice boomed through the room "I don't pay you to stare out of the window!"

"Yes Ma'am" said Katniss quickly, dropping her gaze onto the pair of trousers she was ironing.

Sae approached the girl and stopped right in front of her. She was a very ugly woman in her sixties, with teeth made yellow by the two packs of cigarettes she smoked every day and always dirty despite she owned the laundry. They called her Greasy Sae, and although she always rambled about how pretty she had been in her youth, Katniss found difficult to believe her word.

"When you finish with these" she said "I need you to do some delivery"

"Yes Ma'am" Katniss said again, not looking up from her work.

"And look at me when I talk to you girl" Sae barked "Holy God, you people from the Seam just don't know what manners are, do you?"

The Seam was the poorest part of the City, where Katniss and her family lived.

"Yes Ma'am" Katniss said for the third time, now with her ice –gray eyes looking straight in Sae's black ones.

Sae murmured something under her breath while she walked away, of which Katniss could catch only "Seam bitch". She gritted her teeth and managed to quickly finish what she was doing.

"She really doesn't like you" Madge's voice came to my ears , stating the obvious. Madge was a sweet, gentle girl of Katniss' same age but she came from a richer part of District 12.

They all lived in Panem, a country formed by a City, the Capitol, surrounded by 12 Districts. The richer districts were those closer to the Capitol, and those at the edge were the poorest. Katniss and Madge were from the twelfth district, the poorest one. Each district supplied the City in a different way. District 1 produced jewels and luxuries, 12 was the District of coal mining.

"You don't say" Katniss muttered sarcastically "What is wrong with her, by the way? Like, I didn't do anything to upset her, so why is she like this with me?"

Madge chuckled briefly, grasping the iron "I think she's jealous"

Katniss looked at her "Jealous. Of _me._ Sure she is"

"Oh Katniss please" Madge smiled, moving one blond lock back behind her ear "She is angry because she can't find a thing in you to complain about. So she tries to push you to do something stupid to kick you out. And then you're also pretty, which she's _not,_ and this makes her even angrier"

Katniss felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment for the compliment, and she dropped her gaze.

"Uh, thanks I guess" she whispered.

"I'm only telling the obvious truth" said Madge "You better go now, before she comes back and yells at you because you've been too slow or something"

Xxx

Katniss looked at the name and address on the piece of paper Sae gave her. That would be her last delivery for the day, luckily because even if she had the umbrella she was soaked wet and cold beyond reason. There were a lot of girls working at the laundry who owned a car, but Sae seemed enjoy make Katniss run here and there in the District under the pouring water (and if she'd catch a cold, even funnier).

The address was the one of a big hotel in the richer part of the District, the biggest one of 12 and the least miserable, called 'The Hob'. Katniss walked through the large glass doors to find herself in the reception. Inside it was warm enough for her to loosen the woolen scarf she had around her neck, and she took a moment to ring out her braided dark hair, in an attempt to dry it a little bit.

Katniss reached the concierge, a tall girl with blond hair and brown eyes, who looked at her the same way she would look at an insect. Katniss pretended not to notice.

"I have a delivery for Miss-" she checked the name once again, not entirely sure she had spelled it correctly "-Trinket? I believe?"

The girl threw an annoyed glance toward her before speaking "Yes, you _believe_ correctly. She's just one of the most famous women in Panem, why would you know her name?"

The name said nothing to Katniss, so she just shrugged.

"You can leave the clothes here, by the way" the girl continued, tapping the desk before her "I can send someone to pick them up later"

"Oh, I'm sorry" said Katniss "But I've been told this is quite urgent"

The girl shot her a poisonous look.

"Fine then, fifth floor, suite 1"

"Thank you" Katniss replied sarcastically.

Xxx

As she walked towards the door with a big 1 carved on it, Katniss couldn't help but think at that name. _Miss Trinket_. She was famous, the girl said, but Katniss knew nothing about fame or the people involved with it. She didn't have the TV and she didn't go to the movies. She looked at that world through the thick, dusty glass of misery, and if she thought about the people made rich by the fame, without apparently do anything but smile for the cameras, or wear a pretty dress, or attend parties, she felt disgust surge into her. And she really didn't have the time or the strength for being angry at someone that she didn't even know. So she haven't thought about it at all until that moment.

Katniss rose her right hand and knocked at the door. At first, she didn't receive an answer. She waited a few seconds then knocked again. Nothing. Katniss stared at the wooden door like she wanted to burn a hole through it. Her head was starting to ache and she was cold because of her damp clothes. She began to think about leaving the package in front of the door, but she shook that idea off her mind.

As she raised her fisted hand again the door opened. Katniss had to flex her neck to look at the man standing before her. He was a quite handsome man, with dark hair and an odd but perfectly shaped beard, and he was wrapped in what looked like a very expansive purple robe. It was like he had just got up, even if it was nearly 6 in the afternoon.

"Who the hell are you?" asked the man, scrutinizing Katniss with his cold blue eyes, with the same look that the girl from the reception gave her few minutes before.

"I-" Katniss began to speak, a little taken aback by the man's state of undressing (she always turned extremely embarrassed when it came to that).

A high pitched voice came from inside "Seneca, who is it?"

"I'm trying to find out" the man called Seneca yelled back before turning his attention to Katniss "So?"

"I have a delivery for Miss Trinket" Katniss said once regained composure "From the laundry"

Seneca seemed to acknowledge only then the package Katniss was carrying, and he nodded briefly.

"Come in" he said, before turning around.

Katniss didn't move.

"I thought" she started "I thought you can take.."

The man addressed her a poisonous glare "You think I am your porter, girl? Aren't you paid for delivering stuff? I said _come in_ "

Katniss swallowed down the words she would be glad to say to that Seneca and followed him inside.

The suite was huge, and Katniss thought that her whole house would fit at least three times in it. On the glass table stood a huge buffet, still untouched, and Katniss hoped that her stomach wouldn't make any noise in front of all that food.

"Honey the girl from the laundry is here" Seneca said to no one in particular. The living room was empty, but after a few seconds the high pitched voice from before rang through the room.

"Tell her to come here"

Katniss stood, certain where to go, but suddenly Seneca hissed at her "Didn't you hear her? _Go_!"

Katniss reached the room where the voice came from. "Come in, dear" the voice said, and Katniss walked through the door. It was a big, big room, with white walls and lit by a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The bed was still unmade, and onto the sheets laid a black pair of lace knickers and matching bra. Katniss blushed slightly and looked away.

"Here you are dear, have you got my dress for tonight?"

Katniss turned around towards the voice and blinked. Standing in front of her was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was wearing nothing but a silky white gown, very much similar to a bathrobe, only more thin, that left uncovered part of the arms, of the legs and of the cleavage. Her skin was pale but not a sick-kind of pale, a porcelain-kind of pale. Her cheeks were a little flushed, of a light shade of pink and she was wearing what Katniss assumed was a turquoise wig. What caught Katniss' attention, though, was her huge, cerulean set of eyes, framed by thick, long eyelashes.

"W-what?" Katniss stammered.

Miss Trinket smiled kindly at the girl's reaction, which made Katniss blush even more.

"I asked you if you got my dress, dear" she said again, pointing at the package Katniss was still holding.

"Oh, sure" mumbled Katniss, handing it at her without thinking.

The two of them stared awkwardly at the package in between them. Katniss blushed furiously in embarrassment but before she could think at something to say, to _do_ , Miss Trinket reached out and took it from the girl's hands.

"Oh it's _lovely_ " she beamed "Absolutely perfect, dear!"

Katniss couldn't help but notice her accent. She clearly didn't come from any of the near districts, so either she was from District 1, maybe 2, or from the City itself. Strangely though, Katniss didn't feel the usual feeling of despise. She definitely felt _something_ but she could tell it wasn't anything bad.

"Thank you so much..?" she left the sentence open, waiting for the girl to complete it with her name.

"Katniss" she said, not daring drop her gaze.

"Katniss" Miss Trinket repeated, staring back at that thin, young girl, and feeling a sort of warmth creeping up her neck.

She blinked twice, and then noticed that Katniss was shivering.

"But you're soaked wet dear!" she exclaimed, approaching her and touching the fabric of her coat "We need to find you something dry to wear!"

"It's really not necessary Ma'am" Katniss said quickly "I have to go now, by the way"

Miss Trinket watched her worried while Katniss started to wrap her damp scarf around her neck, and suddenly she opened the closet and picked one dark red scarf.

"Please, take this" she said "I have plenty and I couldn't forgive myself if you'd catch something because of me"

Katniss opened her mouth to reply but Miss Trinket had already wrapped the cloth around her.

"Here, this color really suits you" she gushed, smiling brightly.

"Thank you Ma'am" she said awkwardly "I should go now"

The woman nodded briefly then said "It's Effie"

"Sorry?" Katniss said, trying her best to be polite.

"It's- it's _Effie_ , not _Ma'am_ " she repeated.

Katniss stared at her for a moment. Then smiled slightly "Okay, Effie"

Xxx

Katniss walked out of the door, not bothering to say goodbye to the man, Seneca, who by the way was nowhere to be seen. As the door closed behind her, she leaned back against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

She inhaled deeply and Effie's scent invaded her nostrils without warning. She lightly touched the scarf around her neck. It was soft and warm and it smelled of flowers.

Katniss closed her eyes, running one hand through her hair.

 _She was in deep shit._


	2. Chapter 2

**I do apologize for the unforgivable delay. I have gone throug a very dark period and, as a consewuence, I had writer's block. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Lots of love, kanya.**

 **"** ** _In the instant Miu touched her hair, Sumire fell in love, as if_**

 ** _she were crossing a field when bang! a bolt of lightning zapped_**

 ** _her right in the head. Something like an artistic revelation._**

 ** _Which is why, at that point, it didn't matter to Sumire that the_**

 ** _person she fell in love with happened to be a woman."_**

 ** _(Haruki Murakami, Sputnik sweetheart)_**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

" _Tell me once again_ "

Katniss sighed heavily. That would be the billionth time. She looked up from the shirt she was ironing and her eyes met the ones of Madge, huge with excitement.

"I was soaking wet and.."

"She gave you her scarf! _Effie Trinket_ gave you her scarf! Can you believe this?"

Katniss rolled her eyes "Probably she did that just because I was dripping on her precious carpet"

"Don't be preposterous, Katniss! It wasn't even _her_ carpet, she stays in a _hotel!"_

"Yeah whatever" Katniss looked out of the window, it was raining again "Anyway, I am going to give the scarf back"

Madge stopped ironing and looked at her friend "You're _joking,_ aren't you?"

"At all" said Katniss "That piece of clothe probably costs more than Sae gives me for a month of work. I can't keep it"

 _"But"_ Madge seemed on the verge of tears "But it was a gift, Katniss! Maybe she will be offended if you give it back to her"

"Not my problem" Katniss looked down at the shirt, evaluating her job "She's not my friend and when she will go back to where she came from she won't even remember having met me in the first place"

Madge opened her mouth to respond but eventually she closed it, seeing no point in convincing Katniss of the contrary.

"Can I at least _see_ it?" she whispered after a while.

Katniss nodded.

When their shift was over, Madge followed Katniss to her locker. When the dark haired girl take the scarf out Madge couldn't help a cry of excitement to escape her lips.

"Dear God it's so _soft!"_ she beamed, touching the clothe with trembling hands "I think it's cachemere, Katniss! And.." she took the scarf to her nose "..is this her scent? Oh _God_ it smells so good!"

Katniss felt at unease looking at the piece of clothe so close to Madge's face. Effie gave it to her, she didn't like other people touching it.. When she realized she was thinking that she shook her head and slapped herself mentally. What the hell was she thinking? It was just a stupid scarf.

She glanced at the clock over their heads and saw that she had only two hours to take it back to the hotel before her shift at the bar began..

"I will wash it and I'll deliver it to the hotel on my way to the bar" Katniss said, more to herself than to Madge.

Madge nodded and slowly put the scarf back into Katniss' hands.

"Are you _sure_ you want to give it back?" Madge tried one last time while she was putting her jacket on.

"Yes I am" said Katniss, looking at the red clothe in her hands "See you tomorrow Madge"

"See you tomorrow Kat" smiled Madge, kissing her friend on the cheek "Say hi to Effie Trinket from me!"

Katniss smiled back and watched her friend exiting the main door. When she was alone she approached one of the washing machines and opened its window. She glanced over her shoulder, assuring she was really alone, then she took the scarf to her face and inhaled deeply. Effie Trinket's floral scent invaded her nostrils, leaving her a little dizzy. She recalled when the day before she had handed the clothe to her, with that white smile and her eyes bluer than the summer sky. She remembered her voice when she begged her to call her with her first name, and how she beamed when she did. Katniss closed her eyes and went back to the night before, when she came back home from the bar and she found the house asleep, and she was tired, so tired, but there was _something_ that didn't allow her to relax. So she went to the bathroom and locked the door and put herself into the shower. And then she, for the first time in months, allowed her hand to linger between her legs and herself to sigh in quiet pleasure while the water sliding down her body.

Katniss felt her cheeks burn hot and snapped her eyes open. With a last glance at the scarf, she threw it in the washing machine and pushed the _start_ button.

.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXO

.

Katniss walked through the entrance of _The Hob_ and looked around. The hall was nearly empty, but she heard chattering from a big room at her left, which she assumed was the dining room. It was dinner time and Katniss hoped that she would find Effie Trinket in her room, because she had no time to waste, in the first place, and - second place - she really wished to see that woman once again before erasing her from her memory once for all. So, trying to not being caught from the bitchy girl from the reception (who was doing her nails with a concentrated look written all over her face), Katniss reached the elevator and pushed quickly the of the right floor. Only when the doors closed in front of her, Katniss allowed oxygen to flow into her lungs again. While the elevator was lifting her up one floor at time, Katniss took a few seconds to look at her own reflection in the big shining mirror. She hoped that it was the creepy light of the cubicle that made her face look so pale and nearly sick, and she raised one hand to her hair, trying to give it a nicer look. She wore no make up and her face was clean with a hint of red on the cheeks because of the wind. Katniss stared into the grey eyes of her twin of glass, and arched one dark eyebrow. It was nearly absurd that she cared so much about the way she looked in that occasion, she usually ignored that kind of things and what people thought about her. But glancing once again at the mirror she came to the conclusion that, except maybe for the plain clothes and the messy braid, she was quite ok.

The _ding_ announcing her floor made Katniss come back on earth and she marched out of the elevator, looking left and right to make sure she was alone. And she was indeed, the hallway was desert. She walked by a few room and after a while she arrived in front of the right one. She inhaled. What to tell her? And what if she wasn't there? In that case could she leave the item in front of the door? No way. In that case, Katniss decided, she would come back the next day. She exhaled, and raised her hand. And finally she knocked on the wooden door. While she waited, holding her breath, trying to catch some noise from the inside, Katniss felt her heart beating faster and faster. When at last she was about to turn and go away, she heard light footsteps onto the floor. Too light to be a man.

 _"Yes?"_

Katniss recognized immediately the high-pitched voice of Effie Trinket, and her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.

"Ehm, it's Katniss..the girl from yesterday.." she said, praying that she remembered her.

There was the noise of the door being unlocked and a few seconds later Katniss found herself looking straight into that set of blue eyes that had been tormenting her since the day before.

 _"Katniss!"_ Effie Trinket was smiling sweetly "I was really hoping to see you again, but..what are you doing here?"

Katniss swallowed and found her throat practically dry.

"I'm sorry to bother you Miss-"

"It's _Effie_ dear" she corrected her again, the smile still plastered onto her lips "But come in, don't stand here on the door!". She moved away from the door, allowing Katniss to walk inside the apartment. Then she closed the door behind their back, and the girl was invested by a gust of that familiar floral scent.

"Yeah, sorry..Effie, I'm here to give you back your scarf" Katniss said, once they were sit onto the soft sofa, handing her the bag "I washed it" she added.

Effie stared at the bag but made no move to take it.

"Oh no dear, it was a gift" she shook her head "You _can't_ give it back!"

Katniss blinked twice.

"I cannot accept it" she said at the end "I thank you very much for having lent me it, but I really can't keep it"

It was Effie's turn to blink.

"I'm afraid I don't understand" she said honestly "Why not?"

Katniss sighed. Why couldn't she take the damn thing back without asking too much questions?

"Effie" Katniss began "This is a very expensive piece of clothing and I did nothing to earn that. We don't know each other, you lent me it because mine was wet..in normal life I could never afford it, it seems very expensive.. And I don't like owe anything to anyone."

Effie nodded slowly, her expression was more serious now.

"Katniss," she said "I want you to keep it. Really. I would be very happy if you accepted this gift. It can be the symbol of the beginning of our friendship"

Katniss was dumbfounded.

 _"Our..friendship?"_

"Yes, dear"

"But..we don't know each other at all! I could be anyone.."

"No you're not _anyone"_ Effie interrupted her, the smile back. She reached out and placed one hand on Katniss' knee, making the girl stiffen "I have a good feeling about you, I have had it since you walked here yesterday."

Katniss stared blankly at her like she was crazy. And maybe she was: her wig was of one fair shade of blond, curly and weird as hell but it fit her incredibly. She wore a robe like the day before but underneath Katniss could see a pale green dress, that matched her eyeshadow and her nail polish. The ensemble was quite shocking but, again, it was practically perfect on her.

"Tell me about you" Effie said out of the blue, seeing that Katniss was going to say nothing "You work in a laundry right?"

Katniss nodded, blushing in embarrassment. Yeah she worked like a slave in a laundry, and she was sitting right next to one of the most famous women in Panem, whose perfectly manicured hand was still onto her knee.

"Do you study?"

Katniss laughed nervously.

"I left school at sixteen"

"Why is that?" Effie asked, she seemed very concerned.

"I had to. My father died and my mother is sick..I had to take care of Prim"

"Prim?"

"My little sister. She wants to be a doctor, I need the money to send her to college once she graduates"

"Oh" Effie whispered "It was very brave of you to do that for her"

Katniss shrugged. She didn't even know the reason why she was sharing the story of her miserable life with a woman that she would never see again after that day.

"I only did what I am supposed to do as elder sister"

"It seems that you regret that" Effie observed.

 _"No!"_ Katniss raised her voice "I wanted to do it for her, I still want to..she is smart, she is the kindest and sweetest girl, she deserves to make her dreams real"

"And you don't?"

"I.." Katniss felt tears behind her eyes and started panicking. She was not going to cry in front of her. So she stood up abruptly.

"I really have to go. I am late for work"

"But" said Effie glancing at the clock "It's nearly nine in the evening! Isn't the laundry closed at this time?"

"I work in a bar in the evenings" Katniss explained quickly "and I am _so_ late.."

Effie watched her fumbling with the buttons of her jacket. Then she stood up "I can give you a ride with the car, the last thing I want is you to be scolded because of me"

"It's not necessary, really"

"Please Katniss" Effie said, wrapping her fingers around the girl's wrist "I insist"

Katniss glanced at the clock again. It was really late.

"Uhm, ok..thank you" she mumbled.

Effie smiled widely. She took off her robe and put on a long green coat. She slipped in a pair of terribly high heels and she glanced at her reflection in a nearby mirror.

"Let's go then" she chirped "And do not forget _your_ scarf" she added, pointing at the bag still on the sofa. Katniss smiled shyly and took the bag in her hands.

"Thank you"

.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXO

.

The "car" was nearly bigger than Katniss' house. It was huge, black and neat. Near it stood a tall man in a black suit, black driver hat (underneath Katniss could spot a red head) and white gloves. He looked more like a butler than a driver.

He greeted Effie with a bow and he opened the backseat door. Then he waited.

"Where do you work, dear?" Effie asked.

"The Seam, 12th street" she said, a little embarrassed "It's the address of where I live, I have to go home first, to grab my working uniform"

Effie communicated the address to the driver (she called him Darius) and then she sit back and looked at Katniss, without a word.

Katniss swallowed, feeling her eyes on her. Then she cleared we throat.

"He doesn't talk too much, does he?" she said.

Effie lowered her eyes.

"Darius he..he doesn't talk at all. He can't. He's an Avox, you know.."

Katniss opened her mouth in shock but couldn't say a word. Of course she had heard of Avoxes, but she had never met one before that day. She wondered what he could have done to make his tongue cut off. But she didn't dared ask.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, mortified "I didn't know"

Effie said nothing, her eyes unreadable.

The next ten minutes passed in the complete silence. Effie kept throwing quick glances to her. Katniss did we best not to stare back. She wanted to say something clever so badly but she couldn't find an argument. When she recognized The Seam she sit up straight and started collecting her things.

" _Do you think I can see you again?_ "

Katniss froze and turned to look at Effie, who was still staring at her.

"Why?" was the only thing Katniss could think of.

Effie laughed.

"Well dear, let's say I enjoy talking to you" she said, raising her hand and placing one lock of dark hair behind Katniss ear "I will leave soon, but as I told you before I have this feeling about you..I really wished to see you again and you came today unexpectedly. So maybe is destiny, isn't it?"

Katniss blushed. Being near Effie, surrounded by that scent of her was intoxicating.

"If it pleases you .." She began but Effie stopped her.

"I do not want it to be some sort of obligation for you, dear. I hope you say yes, of course, but only if you want to see me again."

Katniss stared at her. How could she think anyone wouldn't want to see her?

"Yes, I want to"

"Good" Effie beamed.

The car stopped and Katniss looked out of the window.

They were in front of her house.

It was on fire.


End file.
